Reds drop opening game of NBC World Series

The Jasper Reds got their seventh appearance in the National Baseball Congress World Series started off on Saturday evening against the Derby Twins out of Kansas.

Jasper was able to notch several big at-bats in the game but a solid starting pitching performance from Michael Mitchell and 11 base hits allowed the Twins to defeat the Reds by a final score of 7-1.

Derby scored their first run in the second inning as Colton Whitehouse drove in a run with a double, one of just two extra-base hits Derby would record in the game.

After the Twins stretched their lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning, the Reds (13-1) bounced back with a sacrifice fly from Northeast Dubois senior Reece Bauer that trimmed it to 3-1. However, immediately after that the Twins put up a three-piece in the bottom half of the inning to increase the lead to 6-1.

The Twins would add one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning to seal the 7-1 victory.

Jasper alum Jacob Lents had a double for the Reds in the loss while Forest Park grad Trever Zink had an impressive triple in the game. Ben Lambert was the starting pitcher for Jasper as the Washington alum pitched six innings on Saturday.

The Reds will be back in action today against the Dodge City (Kan.) A’s at 4:30 p.m. EDT. A victory against the A’s would keep the Reds postseason alive but a loss would send Jasper home.